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Longboat road rage incident causes concern

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by:
Kurt Schultheis
Managing Editor

A motorist waved a gun in the air during a case of road rage that occurred last week on Longboat Key.

Police responded to The Shore, 5757 Gulf of Mexico Drive, at approximately 1:45 p.m. March 18, after a Sarasota man driving a white Ford pickup truck reported the driver of a white Lincoln in front of him began slamming on his brakes and waving a gun in the air.

The Sarasota man reported that he had honked his horn at a friend traveling in the opposite direction, which prompted the man driving the Lincoln to begin braking and waving a gun at him.

Three patrol cars converged on the scene near The Shore, securing the 9 mm gun, two electronic stun guns and a knife from the Lincoln.

The 63-year-old driver of the Lincoln, who was visiting from Rome, Maine, told police he became scared when the driver blew his horn, which led to him to wave his gun (which was still in its holster) in the air so that the other driver knew there was a gun in the car.

The driver of the pickup truck said he came to a stop and called 911 when he saw the gun, although he was unable to identify whether the driver of the Lincoln, his wife or another passenger raised the gun in the air.

A computer check of all parties was performed, and no one had a criminal record, according to the police report.

The driver of the Lincoln was warned about the consequences of waving his legal handgun.

Said Police Chief Al Hogle: “If my officers had seen someone waving the gun around, someone could have been arrested. But everyone involved wanted to let bygones be bygones. This was a classic incident of road rage that went too far.”